The present invention relates generally to the field of dispensing apparatus and more particularly to the dispensing of cups or containers to a filling machine. While not limited to any particular field of use, the present invention is particularly adapted for continuously supplying cups to a filling machine of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,838,550.
In recent years, considerable attention has been devoted to developing high speed filling machines for filling small containers with various types of products. The automatic dispensing machine disclosed in the above-mentioned patent is capable of automatically filling and supplying closures to small containers at a rate of more than 150 containers per minute.
In utilizing high speed filling apparatus of the type disclosed in the above-mentioned patent, the time and labor required for positioning the cups on the conveyor that carries them through the filling machine has always been a considerable cost item. Most of the automatic filling machines incorporate a cup feeding mechanism of the type disclosed in the above-mentioned patent which includes a vertically extending magazine which receives the nested cups or containers and the containers are removed individually at the lower end by either vacuum drawing or some type of gripping mechanism. One of the major problems encountered in utilizing this type of feed mechanism in a high speed automatic filling machine is that the operator must continuously be supplying containers to the magazine. Since the magazines extend vertically, the number of containers that can be inserted at any given time is severly restricted because it requires the operator to reach to the top of the magazine to insert the group of nested containers.
Another problem encountered with feeding mechanisms heretofore known is that if the containers are deformed or are wedged to each other, the feeding mechanism has a tendency to jam.
Various types of automatic feeding mechanisms have been developed. For example, Mueller U.S. Pat. No. 3,472,403 and St. Clair et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,616,951 disclose apparatus which automatically replenishes stacks of cups at a cup feeding station. While the apparatus disclosed in these patents has found a substantial degree of commercial success, each apparatus requires a specific arrangement of the groups of cups within a carton.